SGA approves three new clubs

The vote is in. After many semesters of planning, the dedicated students who decided to lead the creation of new clubs on campus finally have the support of the Student Government Association.

The E-Board members for three new clubs pitched the ideas in front of a panel of SGA representatives, including student senators for the schools of art, science, business, and education. If enough representatives voted to inaugurate the club, the new club would be officially recognized as SGA affiliated, which would allow the club to ask for funding.

To much of the relief to the students who pitched their ideas, all three clubs that pitched on Feb. 1 became SGA affiliated. Here are the three newly created clubs:

Irish Dance Club

The vision for Irish Dance Club was started by Isabella Haber, who has been Irish Dancing for 14 years. Haber explained in the boardroom that, while the mission of Fisher Dance is to teach students how to dance in all styles, the mission of Irish Dance Club is to spread the Irish culture through the Fisher community.

Haber and the rest of the E-Board members explained the importance of dance in the Irish culture. Haber explained that Irish Dancers traditionally danced with their arms at their sides was because dance was banned in war time, so dancers danced with their arms at their sides so soldiers couldn’t see them dancing through the window.

Although St. John Fisher was founded by Irish Catholic priests from Toronto and offers a minor in Irish Studies, Fisher has never had a club celebrating Irish heritage until now.

The E-Board members showed the representatives a video of club members dancing to “Temperature” by Sean Paul at Cleary Auditorium, showing that the club was just as committed to modern dance as it was to traditional. The club plans to use the funding from SGA to fund dance trips across the community, such as to Strong Hospital and nursing homes.

Baseball Club

When Trevor Maciejewski enrolled at Fisher, he, like many students, was torn between continuing to play the sport he loved and making time for his major. Maciejewski ultimately chose not to play baseball at the Division III college level in order to focus on academics, but still wanted to play baseball in a team environment. This is why Maciejewski, along with many of his friends who were just as passionate about baseball as him, decided to start a club baseball team at Fisher.

This club team plans on practicing in public parks and occasionally arranging a practice at Dugan Yard. The main difference between playing at the club level and playing at the NCAA level is that the time commitment and the friendly environment. Maciejewski explained that there would most likely be athletes who would only show up to a couple practices and games per semester, while other athletes would attend every practice and game. 30 students at Fisher have already expressed interest in playing club baseball.

When the E-Board mentioned that there was a cost of $125 for members to join the team, which would be used for purchasing equipment, the representatives seemed skeptical. However Maciejewski explained that he played in past baseball leagues that cost him over $500.

The baseball club plans to use SGA funding to fund away games to nearby colleges, like the University of Rochester, SUNY Geneseo, and Niagara University.

Fisher Entrepreneurship Association (FEA)

The idea for FEA was started by four students who lived with each other in off- campus housing. These four friends enjoyed brainstorming ideas for new inventions together, hoping to find an invention that can can serve as a solution to a problem in society.

Kristian Khachadourian, the president of FEA, decided that Fisher needed a way to encourage creative students to brainstorm solutions, like he was doing with his friends. Khachadourian lead the creation of FEA to give students, of all majors, the opportunity to get their ideas heard. FEA is unique to all other business related clubs on campus, such as AMA, Investment Club, and PRIMA, because it is mainly focused on building a business of one’s own instead of working with clients in the community.

The E-Board members of FEA want to go beyond just holding brainstorming meetings, but wants students to create a business plan for their invention. The club also wants experienced entrepreneurs to come to the meetings speak about how they grew their business. Khachadourian wants to use SGA’s funding to hire these speakers and to help provide the capital for students to turn their ideas into actual business. If you are interested in any of these clubs, check your Fisher email for announcements about general meetings.